Kenya Partners Dangote For $17bn Lamu Refinery As Ruto Hails Lagos Plant
By Victor Idajili
Kenyan President William Ruto has described the Dangote Petroleum Refinery as a "masterpiece of science, engineering and art" after touring the facility in Lagos.
Ruto, who visited the refinery after the United Nations General Assembly, UNGA, said seeing the 700,000 barrels per day plant firsthand has increased his confidence in the proposed East Africa refinery project.
"Coming here and seeing it for myself, I can confirm that I have seen a masterpiece of science, engineering, and art. To my brother, Aliko, congratulations. I always knew Nigerians to be very brave people and go-getters, but I did not anticipate that it was at this scale," Ruto said.
The Kenyan President reaffirmed his country's commitment to partnering with Dangote Group on the proposed $17 billion East African Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex to be built in Lamu, Kenya.
He said preparations have been concluded for the groundbreaking of the project, which will serve as a regional asset for East Africa.
"This is not a Kenyan refinery; it is going to be a regional refinery. We are positioning our continent as an emerging growth centre, and this project will help accelerate industrialisation, create jobs, enhance engineering capabilities, and strengthen Africa's economic competitiveness," he said.
Ruto said the Lamu refinery will drive industrialisation, create jobs, boost technical capacity and improve energy security and regional integration. He assured that his government will remove bureaucratic bottlenecks to ensure timely execution.
"The Government of Kenya is 100 per cent behind this project. We have secured the required land and are working to ensure that we spend our time building rather than navigating administrative delays," he stated.
He also commended Aliko Dangote for his deep understanding of the refinery's operations.
"The detail with which Aliko Dangote understands this plant is remarkable. Unless you understand the details, you are unable to make the right decisions," Ruto said.
Speaking during the visit, Dangote Group's Chief Strategy Officer, Aliyu Suleiman, said the conglomerate recorded about $17 billion in revenue in the first half of 2026 and is on track to hit $36 billion by year-end, double the $18 billion posted in 2025.
He attributed the growth to investments across cement, sugar, fertiliser, refining, upstream oil and gas and other businesses.
"Between 2020 and 2025, the Group executed a capital expenditure programme of approximately $50 billion. Over the next five years, we intend to invest twice that amount as we accelerate our expansion across Africa," Suleiman said.
He said the 700,000 barrels per day Lamu refinery and petrochemical complex is central to Dangote's Vision 2030 strategy of building a $100 billion African industrial enterprise, with further expansion planned in ports, gas infrastructure, LNG, power and mining.
As part of preparations, Dangote Group has signed a contract worth over $450 million with Engineers India Limited, EIL, to provide project management consultancy and engineering, procurement and construction management services for the Lamu project.
